Chapter 94: chapter 94

SRUTHI Things I know about the woman Madhav loves:1. She hates him.2. She loathes him.3. She would be disgusted if she knew Madhav loves her.4. Her birthday probably falls in June( since Jaya once mentioned how Madhav buys gifts for her in June month).It is Saturday night and I am trying to find out the woman Madhav loves. I sigh glancing at the sheet. It is been an hour since I started this work but I am going nowhere with this. I need to speak with people close to Madhav to find out something about her. The closest person to Madhav is my brother. Holy Hell! How did I forget Vikram? He would know about Madhav's dream woman. I pick up my phone and give my brother a call.  He picks it up in the third ring. “Who is the woman that Madhav loves?” I ask cutting to the chase.“Huh? Hello to you too,” Vikram greets in a cheerful tone. “How are you doing?”“Aaah, Viky, I am doing great. Thanks for asking, but first answer my question: who is the woman that your best friend  is in love with.”“It is my awesome sister, of course,” Vikram answers.I sigh, “Vikram, that is what the media believes but you know the truth. Madhav is in love with some other woman, and I am sure you know who she is.”I hear a bone-weary sigh from him, “What is this all about, Sruthi?”I tell him the gist of what is happening in my life. By the time I am done talking, my eyes are filled with unshed tears.Even though I keep telling myself that I will be okay with this unrequited love I have for Madhav, I know the truth. I am not okay. I am not fine with him loving another woman. I am not fine with him ignoring me.All I wished was for romance in my life, but why am I this unlucky when it comes to love? Why can't a man love me? Am I that undesirable? If being with Madhav for these months doesn't make him have feelings for me, then I am not sure what will. “So, you are telling me that you love Madhav, but he has another woman in his heart and he thinks that you hate him.”“Yes,” I answer wiping the tear.“Are you sure it is love you feel for Madhav and not some form of attachment toward him because he took good care of you? How are you sure he is not another ‘Praveen’?”I turn over Vikram's question in my mind. What do I really feel for Madhav? A couple of minutes pass in silence before I become sure of my answer. My voice is determined as I answer, “I love him, Vikram because even if he doesn't love me back, I still want him to be happy. I still want him to smile and live happily with whoever brings happiness to him. That wasn’t the case with Praveen. I wanted Praveen to be miserable and lonely for ditching me on my wedding day. ”“So, you are telling me that if Madhav ditches you on your wedding day for another woman, you will be okay with that? That you would still wish for his happiness?”“Yes, because Madhav wouldn't ditch me like that asshole Praveen did. He wouldn't write some lame letter and give me a half-assed apology. He will break up with me to my face and explain things properly unlike my loser ex-fiance.”“God, are you really my sister? You sound so mature now,” Vikram says and I can picture him shaking his head. There is a silent pause before Vikram continues, “I do know the woman Madhav loves but I am not at liberty to reveal it.”“Come on, Viky,” I plead. “Just tell me who she is.”“Sorry, that would break the bro code between us but I will give you a clue to find her.”Beggars cannot be choosers, so, I relent, “Okay.”“Have you been to his jewellery shop?” “No, I haven’t,” I answer wondering why Vikram is suddenly bringing up this.“Go to the head office of his jewellery shop when he isn’t working there. He has a personal office room on the sixth floor. His desk in that office has a hidden compartment where Madhav keeps his treasured things. You can find the compartment under the table. Just tap the area of the table where the surface is uneven and the compartment will be revealed. I am not 100% certain about this but he may have a photo of the woman he loves in there.”“Thank you,” I say feeling a sense of gratitude and determination mixed with relief. I can find this woman and I can see Madhav happy.“There is nothing to feel happy about this, Sruthi,” Vikram says, bursting my happy bubble, “Because Madhav is very particular about his office, and it isn’t easy sneaking inside it. This is going to be an impossible task for you. I suggest you better confront him face to face. Communication is what you both need now.”“Thanks for the vote of confidence brother,” I say and hang up. Vikram is right. Communication is what we need between us now but I am scared of confronting Madhav. Call me a coward but I don’t want him to tell me face to face that he doesn’t love me. I know we must have that conversation at one point but that can wait for another day. Call it my ego but I need to know who this woman is. I need to what things about her have charmed Madhav like this. I need to know if she is a woman worthy of the devotion Madhav has for her.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥The mid-afternoon sun blinds my eyes as I step out of the cab I booked. I pay the driver and walk to the lobby of the jewellery shop. The shop is huge and lives up to its rumour. I am standing before the head office of Gajendran Jewelers. Today is Sunday and there is still a week left for the Jewellery shop expo. After eavesdropping on a conversation that Madhav was having with his manager on the phone, I gathered information about his schedule for the day. He is busy handing out invitations for the expo, and I heard him say that he would be gone for the whole day for that purpose and wouldn’t be in the office. I am going to use this as an opportunity to find out about the woman. The door opens automatically as I stand before them. A couple of salesmen stand at the entrance welcoming the customers. They smile politely at me and welcome me warmly.“Welcome to Gajendran Jewellers, Madam,” the salesman says. “What are you buying?”“Huh? Well, I am here to meet Madhav.”The salesman frowns before recognition lits his eyes, “Oh! Madam, sorry for not recognizing you sooner. Sir is not here now. He is busy inviting guests for the expo.”I nod my head and say the lines I practised. I need to look confident to sell the lie, “Yes, I know. He did tell me about it, but he left a very important file in the house and asked me to drop it in his office room in case he is not available when I come here.” I wave the black file I am having in my hand. I hope after hope that the salesman wouldn’t ask what the file is about or show the important documents in them. If he asks me to show the documents, then I am doomed because the file is empty and just for show.Thankfully, he doesn’t say that but instead says, “Madam, I am sorry to inform you this but no one can enter Sir’s office when he isn’t around. Why don’t you leave the file to me, I will deliver it to him if he returns here.”I summon the actor ‘Sruthi’ in me as I utter the next words confidently and haughtily, “He was the one who specifically asked me to put this file on his office desk. Do you doubt me?”“Ah! No, madam,” the man says, looking a little tense. “It is not like that. Madhav Sir has given us strict orders to not allow anyone into the room when he is not around.”“Don’t worry, he has given me his permission,” I say with full confidence and assurance.“But madam…,” he starts.“Come now, are you going to disobey his order? If he knew you aren’t following his instructions, I am sure you know what punishment awaits you.”The salesman flinches and I feel guilty for threatening him with an empty threat. He takes a moment to contemplate before giving him a tight smile. Great! Now, he thinks I am haughty and rude. To what extent must I still go to find the truth? “I will take you to Sir’s room, madam,” he says walking toward the elevator. I follow him with my head held high.  I force myself to keep my face neutral and calm when, in reality, I am scared of this. Madhav would be furious if he came to know about this. The elevator dings open, and I enter it followed by the salesman. He presses the sixth-floor button. I watch in agony and dread as the floor number increments. Every time the elevator door dings open on a floor, I am afraid that Madhav will enter the lift. I know he isn’t in the shop but my mind keeps giving me scenarios of me getting caught by him.Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the doors open on the sixth floor. I have never been this glad to exit an elevator. The sixth floor consists of the cafeteria and Madhav’s room. The salesman stops before a translucent glass door. There is a name board on the door and the name reads, ‘Madhav Gajendren’.“I will take care from here,” I say to the salesman. He nods his head at me and walks toward the elevator to return to his position on the ground floor. I look around the corridor. Through the transparent glass doors, I can see the cafeteria bursting with employees having their lunch. A few customers linger around. That is when I realise how big and huge Madhav’s store is. How wealthy the man is but he never shows off. I have never seen him flaunt his wealth like Praveen did. Madhav is modest, and except for his huge house, which he inherited from his father, I have never seen him indulge in luxury. Heck! He doesn’t even have the habit of alcohol and smoking. He still owns a old convertible and a normal car. On the surface, Madhav may look rough and tough, but deep inside, he is so much better than most men. I need to make Madhav’s dream woman understand this fact. She needs to know how adorable and lovable Madhav is. How he is fragile and strong at the same time. I take a deep breath. I don’t know when I accepted the fact that he is a killer. At the beginning, I wasn’t okay with that aspect of Madhav, but now I accept him as he is. I am okay with the fact that Madhav is an assassin, and I even love that part of him, though I was scared of that side initially. I push the door, and it swings open, to my surprise. For someone who is obsessed with not letting anyone into his office without his permission, Madhav hasn’t locked his door. I slip into the room before making sure that no one is in the corridor. His office room is ordinary. I don’t know what I expected to see but I wasn’t prepared for the minimal design of the room. I had expected the room to be lavished with luxury and gold but the room has only minimal things. A magohongy desk sits in the middle of the room with a brown leather chair behind it. I walk to the desk and seat myself on the chair. I run my hand on the chair and wonder if this is where Madhav would sit. I put the file on the desk and try to find the uneven surface beneath the table. My eyes are so focused on the table that I don’t notice someone coming near the translucent office room until they slam open the door.I freeze. Damn it! I am done for today.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥